SWA #4

In the essay by Brent Staples about the decline of radio, we can use TRACE to analyze his writing. The text is an argumentative essay on the depletion of small radio companies and the overtaking of larger corporations. He discusses how radio is no longer personal, but simply advertising and reruns of overplayed music. The audience can be generalized to all Americans that listen or have listened to the radio. It can be narrowed down to those Americans living in New York that listen to the radio as well. Throughout the essay the author projects his disgust with the corporatization of the radio and the difficult task he must undertake to listen to decent music. He reminisces to the days when each radio station had their own style and played different music and allowed local bands on the air. Some of the possible constraints for the author might be his living up north, specifically New York where he mentions the price for a station is around $100 million. He obviously valued the more eclectic music, seemingly as he is unsatisfied with the mainstream music played in his area. I too do not particularly care for most mainstream music played on the radio. When in my car I listen to CDs or my IPod, where I have specifically chosen the music I want to listen to. The exigence for this essay is the uprising of corporate radio and the lack of decent music to be found upon such stations. The author and I share much common ground as I can relate to the dislike of radio today and all the music and commercials. I felt as though it was not a very good argument because he did not propose a means of change, just simply stated the issue at hand.